Cash for Clunkers Program Ends Monday
The Car Allowance Rebate System, commonly known as the Cash for Clunkers program, ends on Monday, August 24th at 7pm CST. Yesterday the U.S. Transportation Secretary announced the end of the program. As of yesterday, the CARS program had recorded more than 457,000 transactions worth $1.9 billion in rebates.
If you are considering trading in your clunker, keep in mind that dealerships in Wisconsin are closed on Sundays, so your window of opportunity to take advantage of this program is limited to today, Saturday, and Monday.
The CARS program allows consumers to receive a $3,500 or $4,500 rebate in certain situations. For more information on the program, check out the official CARS website at www.cars.gov or see our related posts.
A few key highlights of the program are:
- Your vehicle must be less than 25 years old on the trade-in date
- Only purchase or lease of new vehicles qualify
- Generally, trade-in vehicles must get 18 or less MPG (some very large pick-up trucks and cargo vans have different requirements)
- Trade-in vehicles must be registered and insured continuously for the full year preceding the trade-in
- You don’t need a voucher, dealers will apply a credit at purchase
- Program runs through Nov 1, 2009 or when the funds are exhausted, whichever comes first.
- The program requires the scrapping of your eligible trade-in vehicle, and that the dealer disclose to you an estimate of the scrap value of your trade-in. The scrap value, however minimal, will be in addition to the rebate, and not in place of the rebate.
$2 Billion Clunkers Extension Approved
On Thursday, the US Senate approved a $2 billion measure to extend the “Cash for Clunkers” program. President Obama will likely sign the measure into law in the near future.
Over the past week there has been some uncertainty whether there were enough funds to honor the $3,500 or $4,500 rebates promised in the program. However, this move by the Senate should clear up any uncertainty that remains with consumers and car dealerships. If you are considering trading in a “clunker” for the rebate, we suggest you try to move reasonably fast since the $2 billion in new funding could dry up in the near future. It is still unclear how much money the program has already distributed, and due to the government’s difficulty in tracking this, consumers need to be prepared that the program could end at anytime.
If you are thinking of visiting a Milwaukee area car dealership to discuss how you might be able to benefit from the Cash for Clunkers program, take a few minutes to familiarize yourself with the official website from the government – www.cars.gov.
According to the website, here are a few important things to know about the program:
- Your vehicle must be less than 25 years old on the trade-in date
- Only purchase or lease of new vehicles qualify
- Generally, trade-in vehicles must get 18 or less MPG (some very large pick-up trucks and cargo vans have different requirements)
- Trade-in vehicles must be registered and insured continuously for the full year preceding the trade-in
- You don’t need a voucher, dealers will apply a credit at purchase
- Program runs through Nov 1, 2009 or when the funds are exhausted, whichever comes first.
- The program requires the scrapping of your eligible trade-in vehicle, and that the dealer disclose to you an estimate of the scrap value of your trade-in. The scrap value, however minimal, will be in addition to the rebate, and not in place of the rebate.
Cash for Clunkers Program Suspended?
Fox News has published an AP story that the Car Allowance Rebate System (“Cash for Clunkers” program) will be suspended by the Department of Transportation. According to the article, there is a possibility that auto dealers may have already surpassed the 250,000 vehicle sales funded by the $1 billion program.
A visit to the official CARS website – www.cars.gov -doesn’t mention the suspension yet. If you were considering buying a car in the near future and taking advantage of a $3,500 or $4,500 rebate, it looks like you might be too late! We suggest keeping an eye on the official website for the latest information on the program.
Top Ten Tidbits
Our top ten list for today is a list of ten random tidbits of interesting or useful information.
1. Interesting taking a look at what tickets are going for on StubHub.com for the Summerfest Headliners:
- No tickets are available for Chicago and Earth, Wind, and Fire
- Bob Dylan and Willie Nelson tickets range from $73 to $352
- No Doubt with Paramore tickets range from $44 to $348
- Kenny Chesney tickets range from $61 to $2,000
- The Fray with Jacks Mannequin tickets range from $28 to $155
- Lynyrd Skynyrd with Kid Rock tickets range from $52 to $695
2. President Obama has signed the Cash for Clunkers bill. The program is officially called the Car Allowance Rebate System (CARS). If you’re in the market for a new car, you might be eligible for a $3,500 or a $4,500 voucher. Go to the official goverment website at www.cars.gov. Be wary of other Cash for Clunkers websites that ask you for your personal information!
3. JD Roth at Get Rich Slowly recently wrote about Common Car Dealer Tricks. Read this article before you head out car shopping! Also, check out his post on The Best Way to Buy a New Car.
4. Here’s a MSN slide show of some top cities to do on the cheap this summer. Includes slides on Chicago and Minneapolis.
5. An interesting article on Walletpop discusses a few interesting economic indicators of this recessionary environment, like movie theater sales increasing but sales of alligator purses decreasing!
6. Another Walletpop article – HP is coming out with a new printer that could make coupon printing from Coupons.com a breeze.
7. Two more fee-free weekends left at more than 147 National Parks (July 18/19 and August 15/16). See this About.com article for more information.
8. A very cool local story on JSOnline about recycling a house. The owner used Craigslist to advertise and saved around $10,000. In the process, others are saving money too. Do you use Craigslist to save money? If so, please contact us and share your experiences. We’re working on future posts about Craigslist in Milwaukee, and would be interested in your stories.
9. JSOnline has a handy interactive map of pick-your-own farms around Wisconsin. You might be able to save a few bucks by picking your own strawberries, raspberries, blueberries, or cherries!
10. A friendly reminder that today is the last day to buy $5 advance tickets to the Wisconsin State Fair! (Gate price at the fair for an adult is $9.)
Cash for Clunkers Bill Passes Congress
Last week Congress passed the Cash for Clunkers bill. We’ve previously advised local consumers who were in the market for a new vehicle to watch the progress of this bill carefully. Those of you who are considering purchasing a new vehicle in the near future might be in a position to save thousands of dollars with the passage of this bill. Here are the a few details of the bill:
- The official government website is www.cars.gov.
- The Cash for Clunkers program will go into effect when President Obama signs the bill. (There hasn’t been any indication that he won’t sign the bill.) The program will last until November 1st.
- Depending upon the improvement in mpg from an old vehicle to a new vehicle, consumers are eligible for a $3,500 voucher or a $4,500 voucher. For example, for a passenger car, the new vehicle must acheive at least 22 mpg. For a $3,500 voucher there must be an improvement of 4mpg. For a $4,500 voucher there must be an improvement of 10 mpg. See this handy chart at Jalopnik for the breakdown on passenger cars, small trucks, large trucks, and work trucks.
- Dealers must certify that the clunker (old car that is traded in) is scrapped. Dealers cannot resell the clunkers.
- The vehicle must have been owned by the same owner for at least one year.
For more information, including recommended cars to trade in and to purchase in this program, check out the Consumer Reports Car Blog.
Our guess is Milwaukee area car dealers will start advertising these government vouchers once the bill is signed into law by the President. Stay tuned to Milwaukee Consumer for details on any special promotions released by auto dealers in Southeastern Wisconsin.